Newlyweds cleared for takeoff at Hamilton Airport
Monday, 14 November 2022
Love is in the air at Hamilton airport.
After popping the big question a year and a half ago at the airport’s Rotary run-the-runway event, newlyweds Alex and Allannah Walford have returned to Hamilton Airport to create some one-of-a-kind wedding photos.
The rain didn’t stop proceedings with airport operations slotting the couple’s unusual request in between departing and arriving regional flights.
Walford said she was surprised how easy it was to have the airport help them document their big day.
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“I messaged the airport on facebook, and they responded a couple of days later saying it was fine … The airport was very accommodating and worked in with our schedule as much as flights would allow,” Walford explains.
The airport liaised with the fire and rescue service as well as air traffic control to accommodate the couple’s request.
They had a short window between flights so worked closely with the rescue fire team to ensure they were on and off the runway to avoid disruptions,” group general manager airport operations Ben Langley said.
Yet the airport isn’t about to start diversifying their offerings beyond this exception.
”This is very much a one-off situation where Allannah and Alex got engaged at the Rotary Run the Runway event last year and when they approached us to ask if they could follow it up with a photo on the runway, we obliged,” he said.
The couple tied the knot 30km from the airport at Rosenvale, near Te Awamutu.
In a sprint to get to the runway in the 25-minute slot between arriving and departing flights from the Capital, the couple’s photographer was worried they would have enough time to get the shots they wanted.
“The photographer and videographer were keen, but we were unsure there would be enough time to drive from the venue and back in-between everything else.”
Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch – at least for the couple.
The plane they were waiting on to depart encountered a bird scare and had to abort its takeoff roll. For the Walfords, this meant they could capture a one-of-a-kind shot with the slightly delayed plane blasting off in the background.
“It was so cool, heaps of people were waving from the terminal,” Allannah said.
The couple said to have their photos taken on the runway on Friday was a fitting end to the story of their wedding.
“It’s the feeling of a completed story.”